Doners Dilemma

has the title says i have a little dilemma - I really want to do an oly before im 40, which is approaching quicker than i would like. i dont want to leave it too late in the year so really september is my cut off, cant do events on a saturday either so that rules a few more out so what im left with is the Bala oly on september 11th, i just done my first OW session and found it to be ok, not alot different from pool after a few minutes of cold adjustment. with this in mind and the fact that i only just done my first couple of sprint tris - how would bala be as a first time oly? i tried searching for info but most of it is regarding the the middle dis race in june ish time. i dont even really know what i need to know if that makes sense. My run and bike should be ok and by the time the event comes round i will have a few OW session under my belt.

well i know i should "just go and do it " but was trying to gauge if it was a hard one for a first timer. Im not really into coming last either and plus i have only done 2 pool sprints. i looked at the bike course profile but it really means nothing to me as i live in the fens where its flat as a pancake in most places. a 200m climb over 5km doesnt compute.

i always get too nervous before trying anything new and mostly end up enjoying it, and i did notice that 2 of the above posters are pirates so dont think anything of doing an oly. but for me its quite a step up - in april i ran my first event - a local 10k, now im contemplating doing an OW tri, and what i didnt mention was that i have been swimming for about only 8 weeks as readers of the Cr@p swimmers R Us thread will know. I'll wait till after my next OW session to see how far i can clock up.

I had just learnt to do crawl when I did the Bala middle distance.........I could only do a few lengths crawl.............so I just swam by doing 20 strokes crawl and then doing some breast stroke to recover and then doing the crawl again.................the breast stroke helped me site and keep in a straitish line..............I just reminded myself that I had to just keep moving forward and eventually i would get out of the swim and be able to get going..............

I did a lot better than I thought I would.........

i think a lot of pirates would understand your nervousness as many of us couldn't swim much when we entered our first open water races and unlike the serious triathlons in clubs we didn't keep on at sprints until we knew we could do the next step up...............

we just had faith that with determination and training we could do the next step up whatever anyone else thought

You'll be fine, but some more OW practice will help build confidence. Don't diss the Pirate advice, many of us came from less conspicuous sporting backgrounds to muddle our way around IM's, so know what it's like to conquer one or more fears along the way. It ain't easy, but certainly easier than most people think if you put in the effort. That's the Pirate ethos, it's not all about the pros and the weight weenies. There's always going to be people who pick it up quicker and go faster than you, but hey, that's life, just get on with it and get ready to max out your credit rating on race entries and bling

thanks for the replies guys, but when i got round to thinking about it - well it aint that much of a challenge really is it? like someone said my orginal post was just a list of reasons TO DO IT so ... i thought a little, and it hurt my head but then i had an ow session earlier tonight and some guys was on about doing the Vitruvian, a race that i had obviously seen write ups about - i just had an ideal, no not an idea really more of a calling, im going to do the vitruvian - its full i hear you say - no its not - 4 cancelled places are on the web site, well there was 4 places theres 3 now - so if you see a fattish bloke struggling in the swim - try not to laugh too much - it might be me.

@seren nos a bit of crawl , a bit of breast stroke - hopefully that kind of thinking will get me through too

@kanga the cards nearly maxed already - now i just have to tell the missus i spent another £100 or tell her the race was £40 quid and hide the statements. Should this news be submitted before or after i tell her im going to leave her looking after my shop with 2 kids for the day, on the busiest day of the week?

well done Doner for just going for it and getting it done................I did it ( I had to get my OH to buy me a road bike 3 weeks before Bala as i only had a rusty old hybrid ).and I have never looked back.a great challenge

Previously bookmarked threads are now visible in "Followed Threads". You can also manage notifications on these threads from the "Forum Settings" section of your profile settings page to prevent being sent an email when a reply is made.